The National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) has urged stakeholders in the information technology sector to encourage more start-ups to sprout and survive, in a bid to further foster innovation and entrepreneurship.
Speaking at the NITDA Co-Create West Africa Tech Expo in Lagos – an event, co-organised by GAGE Award and NITDA, aimed to showcase innovative businesses both locally and globally with a physical presence in Nigeria – NITDA’s director-general, Mallam Kashifu Abdullahi delivered a keynote address at the event under the theme “Evolve.” He emphasised the crucial need for collaboration between the government and the tech ecosystem to nurture young talents and help them transform their ideas into impactful solutions.
Abdullahi stated, “We need to help our start-ups have access to capital to enhance their ideas and provide a platform for them to network and learn from the ecosystem.” He urged participants to forge strategic partnerships and collaborate to develop the ecosystem, citing the Nigerian Start-up Act Implementation as one of the initiatives underpinning this collaborative effort.
“This event is one of them. This is a private-public partnership. We co-created the conference, and the conference itself to promote co-creation. We believe no one should live in isolation, so we need to work as an ecosystem to create value together,” Abdullahi affirmed.
Sharing the new NITDA Strategic Road-map and Action Plan 2024-2027, in alignment with President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s priority areas, Abdullahi stressed the importance of stakeholders joining hands with the government to build a robust institution. He invited the tech community to embrace cooperation and collaboration, emphasising that together, they could achieve greater things.
The NITDA’s Strategic Road-map and Action Plan for 2024-2027 include pillars such as fostering digital literacy, cultivating talents, strengthening policy implementation, promoting inclusive access to digital infrastructure and services, nurturing an innovative and entrepreneurial ecosystem, among others.
The executive vice chairman of the Nigeria Communications Commission who was represented by the commission’s public relations manager, Mr. Rueben Mouka highlighted Nigeria’s strengths and challenges in the tech global market. He emphasised the need to address infrastructure deficits, unreliable power supply, and poor internet connectivity to foster an enabling environment for innovation and entrepreneurship.
Mouka advised Nigeria to leverage its unique strengths, including a vibrant and youthful population, strategic location, and being the gateway to the African market. He urged the nation to confront challenges head-on and focus on creating an environment that nurtures innovation and addresses underlying infrastructure deficits.
In his welcome remarks, the convener of GAGE Award, Mr. Johnson Aroh described the NITDA Co-Create West Africa as “more than a showcase of technological concepts”. He emphasised that the conference provides a platform for fostering creativity, driving digital transformation and building an ecosystem where ideas flourish.
Aroh commended NITDA for its vision in co-creating the event, acknowledging the agency’s unwavering commitment to promoting technological innovation and digital inclusion in Nigeria. The conference, according to Aroh, serves as an avenue to experience cutting-edge solutions and groundbreaking projects, and collectively understand the transformative power of technology.
The NITDA Co-Create West Africa Tech Expo stands as a testament to the collaborative efforts between the government and the tech ecosystem, working together to propel the growth of start-ups and contribute to the nation’s technological advancement.
